On the weekend of Feb. 9, eight representatives from UD’s Greek life community joined the thousands of representatives of fraternities and sororities from across the country in Indianapolis for the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values’ (AFLV) Central Conference. These eight representatives serve either on the UD Interfraternity Council (IFC), the UD Panhellenic Council or the National Pan-Hellenic Council.

Arriving at a pivotal time in the history of Greek life, due to multiple incidences of hazing and sexual assault accusations at universities across the country, the conference’s overall aim was to educate attendees on how to both develop leadership values and recognize and prevent high-risk behaviors in the organizations.

Last year Ohio State, Florida State, Texas State and Indiana suspended all fraternity activities. Some have resumed activities and the University of Michigan imposed a self-suspension on their fraternities last semester. Penn State’s Beta Theta Pi fraternity made national headlines when a new member died due to hazing activities. Most recently, Miami University suspended all fraternity activity Feb. 21 after multiple hazing reports.

With all of these incidents in mind, there was a bigger emphasis placed on this conference than had been in years past. Connor Hanson, the vice president for community engagement for UD’s Interfraternity Council (IFC) and a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, traveled to Indianapolis as one of the representatives of UD’s Greek life community. He viewed this experience as a teachable moment for the UD members in attendance.

With almost 4,000 people in attendance from undergraduate programs around the nation, the conference prioritized educating these representatives about the positive characteristics Greek life communities should uphold. The representatives were taught how to become better leaders on campus, become more inclusive and grow within the community.

Along with Hanson, UD also sent seven other representatives including Jordyn Mitchell, the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) president, Sallie Deyoung, the Panhellenic Council president, and Joe Moore, a graduate assistant adviser for UD’s Fraternity and Sorority Life. Deyoung stressed the importance of this year’s conference.

“With Greek life being called into jeopardy across the nation, it is important now more than ever that we remain connected with leaders from other schools and learn how to move our communities in a positive direction,” Deyoung said.

This year’s conference focused on preventing sexual assault.

“Sexual assault is a systemic issue on college campuses across the nation and the fraternity and sorority community can be a pioneer to combat this issue,” Moore said.

Former Vice President Joe Biden was a keynote speaker this past weekend, talking about the topic through the example of his “It’s On Us” campaign, which focuses on combating on-campus sexual violence. Biden did not mince words when it came to bystander intervention.

“Any of you guys who see a freshman co-ed at a party drunk out of her mind, one of your brothers or roommates walking her up the stairs–if you do not intervene, you are a coward,” Biden said. “You are complicitous.”

Despite those words, he is still hopeful that new interveners and leaders can be made today.

“This is one of the most encouraging things I’ve seen. Four thousand of you from around the country here deciding that you’re going to take hold by taking various teachings,” Biden said. “You’re going to use them as the biggest ends of the solution.”

His speech was the culmination of a number of educational sessions the representatives underwent. Not only did Biden’s speech address a widespread on-campus issue, but also acknowledged it is also a national issue, specifically referring to the recent #MeToo movement.

“The most important thing [Joe Biden] said in his speech was that stopping sexual assault is not just on women,” said Deyoung. “Stopping sexual assault is on all of us, especially the fraternity men that were sitting in the room.”
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With stories of hazing and sexual assault within the organizations becoming more and more rampant, this year’s AFLV Central Conference tried to address these problems and change Greek life for the better. Bringing together actual members of fraternities and sororities and teaching them leadership skills and values may have a beneficial impact on the future of Greek life not just here at UD, but also across the nation as well.